immortalpediafandomcom-20200214-history
People of Ash
The Ashed people are a race on the surface of Soi that inhabit the Ashed City States they are commonly characterized by their short, sturdy build, black hair, and grey complexion. They are the primary inhabitants of the city states. Religion The Ashed follow no official religion and often hold the worship of gods and immortals with a measure of disdain. Many dismiss the idea as being little more than superstition despite the fact that their civilization was founded by one such creature. Despite their lack of religion, they do follow the philosophy of the great engine, which states that everything in the world serves one function or another, and is all equally important for existence to continue. A farmers purpose is to provide food, the crops exist to die or be harvested, the builder exists to build, the soldier exists to protect, and that the height of enlightenment is to find one's purpose, the greater contentment one feels in their existence, the greater the fit they are in their current position in the world. The Ashed may refer to people being made of various materials such as stone, iron, or wood to describe their temperament or personality, and referring to people as different tools or simple machine parts to describe what they are proficient in. In a perfect wold for the Ashed, no one would feel discontent with their position in life, nor would others seek to disrupt the lives of others, for all would be in balance working together, some errant pieces of the machine that seek to disrupt it must be removed. Culture The Ashed peoples mostly live in their stone walled cities, some of their population living around the city just outside of the walls, as such they are never far from large population centers. They prize hard work, good craftsmanship, quiet competence, and mental serenity. The constant competition of companies seeking to get the best employees, the best ideas and newest innovations leads to constant company espionage and sabotage as well as great production standards. All citizens of a city state serve in the military from the age of 11 to 17. During these six years they are taught the laws, combat doctrine, basic reading and mathematics. During their last years in the service they typically guard the wall or patrol the streets with older guards to maintain order in the city, as such every citizen at some point has served to uphold the laws of their society and in theory should have a sense of comraderie and belonging. During the middle years they are given aptitude tests in a variety of business skills important to the industries of the city to help prepare them for when they leave and become full citizens, this helps them find their purpose in accordance to their philosophy, and a stable job. Some Ashed that show aptitude for combat may stay in the guard or are hired by mercenary companies. To defend the city, be sent all over the world, or train the new generation of recruits. In the job market, though some positions pay more due to skill level or demand, social worth is determined by the skill and dedication to the individuals job, not the job itself. The idea feeds into the great machine, as every piece is equally important. For without the street sweepers or cleaners, plague may break out, but without the builders, their walls would collapse. As such, nearly every Ashed works diligently and is paid both in respect and good wages of the society, with meaningless shows of excessive wealth being akin to public indecency, which reflects in their architecture, clothing, culture, and crafted goods, which are typically devoid of any decorative aspects. Politics The competitive nature of the Ashed has led to a fracturing of their political power down to the individual level. Each council though having the cities best interest at heart is generally incredibly slow to action as each council member typically has their own agenda, further moderated by the ethics council of each city, further exacerbated by each city having its own individual agenda. The Ashed Confederacy has little to no real political power except in cases to where the Immortal unifies their governments or an external threat forces them to band together. Except for these rare cases the cities are politically spent fighting each other. The greatest political influence that might come from an Ashed city state is if an individual company were to send agents or mercenaries to parts of the world that hold interest to it. Relation to the Immortals Ashed were selectively bred from the first age by the 14th Councilmember at the dawn for physical and mental hardiness. Their civilization got its start from one of the Immortals, yet most of them believe it is little more than a myth. Yet the 14th council seat in their cities is always reserved for it should it arrive during times of political decision making. It is often said that due to their relations with the 14th councilmember, their people occasionally suffer from the madness of calculated paranoia.